This semiannual report summarizes the work of the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
during the 6-month period ending March 31, 1999.

On April 14, 1999, the OIG celebrated its tenth anniversary as an independent component
within the Department of Justice (Department). Ten years ago the OIG was created through
the transfer of units previously located in other Department components, including an
Investigations Division largely drawn from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, an
Audit Division transferred as an entity from the Justice Management Division, and units
within the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other
components that formed the backbone of a subsequently created Inspections Division. There
were many challenges during the OIGs early years: to continue without interruption
the duties inherited with the newly transferred units; to assimilate employees with
diverse experience and from disparate entities into a new, unified organization; and to
extend the OIGs investigations, audits, and inspections into parts of the Department
that had not generally been subjected to independent reviews.

This institution building occurred through the hard work, dedication, and commitment of
men and women who recognized the importance of the OIGs mission and who formed an
organization that embodied the lofty aspirations of the Inspector General Act. The
development and maturation of the OIG could not have occurred without the leadership of
Acting Inspector General Anthony Moscato (1989-90) and Inspector General Richard Hankinson
(1990-94).

During the past ten years, the OIG has increasingly been treated as a full partner in
the Department through its participation in the Office of Investigative Agency Policies
and on various Department task forces and working groups. In addition, jurisdictional
boundaries among the OIG, the Office of Professional Responsibility, and internal affairs
components within the Department have been clarified, thereby facilitating more effective
and productive working relationships. The nature of the OIGs work has changed as
well during the past decade:

The OIG has conducted numerous special investigations that bring together attorneys,
criminal investigators, auditors, and program analysts to examine complex and important
issues.

OIG audits and inspections have expanded beyond compliance reviews and financial audits
to include broader program reviews and evaluations.

The OIG has increased follow-up work on issues and programs that are particularly
important to the Department and in which initial examinations disclosed significant
problems and vulnerabilities.

The OIG has expanded its ability to conduct investigations of possible criminal
wrongdoing and serious administrative misconduct through its ten Investigations Division
field offices and seven area offices across the country.

While the scope and breadth of our work has expanded, the OIG continues to face several
enduring challenges. The first is to approach our work in a spirit of constructive
criticism. Although we know it is unlikely that our decision to conduct an audit,
inspection, or program review will ever be met with enthusiasm from Department managers,
we want and expect our reviews to be perceived as objective, fair, and reasonable. We
continue to pursue this as a central goal.

Second, our investigations should lead to a narrowing of the opportunities for
misconduct and corruption within the Department. We must search for ways to leverage each
criminal and administrative investigation to produce procedural and systemic reforms that
make similar misconduct less likely in the future. Such progress is not as easily measured
as arrests, convictions, and the imposition of administrative discipline, but is central
to the mission of any OIG.

Third, the ability of the OIG to have a significant and positive impact on the
Department will be sharply limited in the absence of sufficient budgetary resources. We
have lacked such resources in the past several years. I very much regret that, despite the
enormous growth of the Department and the strong record of OIG accomplishment, we have no
more people on board today than we did in 1992. I do not believe this is good for the OIG,
the Department, or the public in light of the dramatic increase in Department personnel
and funding since Fiscal Year 1993.

As I approach my fifth anniversary as IG this June, I want you to know that it has been
my great privilege to have served in this capacity for half of the OIGs ten years of
existence. I have been proud to serve with the men and women of the OIG who care so much
about the important work that they do and about the Department in which they so proudly
serve.

It also has been a privilege to serve with an Attorney General who so plainly values
the work of a vigorous and independent OIG. We look forward to working with you in the
future.